Anaïs Mitchell

She is a shepherd and his wife in labor. She is a young man in America. A tailor because he liked her clothes and a poet because he vowed to forget her. These fine stories permeate through the sweetness about her. It is the eternal tale, sung by Anaïs Mitchell, the queen of modern folk music (a term I stole because it’s true). The royal family of common folks, that is.

She is a petite lady from Vermont who moved to Boston at 18 to be a singer, living out of her car. She likens her voice to a helium balloon. Last time she came to sing in Houston at McGonigel’s Mucky Duck, she was a humble and honored soul to play on that stage. I don’t think she even knew where she would crash that night before the next leg of the tour. She still is that musician. Wherever and whenever someone is struggling through the mundane, Anaïs Mitchell is singing for them. The yellow-headed girl will soon be in Houston to share her story of folks in America – contemporary, wild, poor and all.